Do you have an origin story for your business? Here's mine...

In the beginning, I had different intentions...

I started a bookkeeping business to finance another passion and calling - holistic health.

Ayurveda and Somatic Experiencing, to be even more specific.

Ayurveda? What's that?!

Ayurveda is a powerful and elegant medicine system that originated in the ancient world surrounding the Indian subcontinent. Modern medicine is gradually "re-discovering" many new breakthrough health secrets which Ayurveda has considered standard protocol for thousands of years. Ayurveda can be regarded as the original lifestyle medicine science, and is a sister science of yoga.

Ok, got it! What's Somatic Experiencing?

Somatic Experiencing is a beautiful technique that helps one release themselves from the grip of challenging emotions, stresses (and even traumas) by working with the intelligence of the "non-verbal" parts of the nervous system in the body. On a personal level, it's helped me emerge from old patterns and come into a more authentic and open expression of myself.

Since the time I discovered these sciences, I knew these professional trainings could help a lot of people. And I'm fortunate that my business has been able to finance these...

Though I'll admit this is certainly not the most conventional way to start a financial services firm!

Needless to say, growing an accounting firm wasn't part of my 10 year plan when I first started.?

Having lived at a meditation retreat center for 15 years and worked as their non-profit bookkeeper, I was actually quite sick of bookkeeping when I made the transition!??

But I knew starting a bookkeeping business was my best chance at avoiding the W-2 (i.e. pouring my life energy into working for someone else's vision) during the period while I was going through a bunch of professional training for "what I really wanted to do".

So I embraced bookkeeping...and it taught me a lot about entrepreneurship.

Turns out, I discovered there's a lot of "healing work" to be done in my clients' relationships with money.??And I get it.

Having woken up to money late in life, as I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey, I had to face all my own issues with money in order to successfully grow my practice.??

Scarcity mindset, avoidance, self-worth issues, over-working, over-giving, under-earning...you name it, I've been there!?

Now I find myself passionate about empowering other business owners to work through both the emotional challenges and the financial challenges of growing a successful business, so they can make a great living doing what they love.??

I partner with clients to breath life into their vision, and make it a reality.

In more practical terms, my boutique business services firm provides:

STRATEGY, COACHING, ACCOUNTING (non-tax) & BOOKKEEPING SERVICES FOR INTEGRATIVE HEALTH PRACTITIONERS.

Ayurveda Practitioners and Somatic Practitioners are now some of my favorite clients to work with, and having studied those sciences, I bring a depth of knowledge and insight to business development for these businesses that most coaches, consultants or accountants simply can't come close to.

I should also give a big shout out to Naturopathic Doctors, Homeopaths, Therapists, Acupuncturists and countless other Integrative Health Practioners, because these are all beautiful and powerful modalities that I admire. I would love to see these modalities reaching more folks in our communities (in a time when the world needs these services more than ever!).

My financial consulting with clients takes into account the challenging emotional landscape of being a small business owner (which I see few accountants and consultants acknowledge).

Trained in Integral Coaching and Somatic Experiencing, these methodologies help me support clients with the emotional and human development sides of entrepreneurship.

Wait a minute...Integral Coaching?

Ok, I guess I didn't mention anything about Integral Coaching until just now, so I should probably define that too.

Integral coaching is a robust, personalized coaching method that focuses on a client's development and growth. It's based on the Integral Theory (the work of Ken Wilbur), which is globally recognized, and uses a variety of frameworks and developmental principles.

Integral coaching is different from other coaching approaches because it recognizes that each person is unique and complex. It helps clients understand their current level of development and evolve to higher stages of consciousness and capability. My clients typically come out of this work with greater skills and a broadened mindset that allows them to be more effective (and often more profitable) in their business.

At a certain point, I realized that regardless of whether I'm working as an Ayurveda Health Counselor, or a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, or an emotionally-informed financial consultant and services provider, the common theme was that I was coaching folks through a transformational experience.

Integral Coaching became the bridge that tied these very different disciplines together for me. And in the end I realized that the discipline or modality (i.e. the tool) was not as important as the transformation itself.

And thus I embraced my role as a coach, helping folks develop themselves within the context of business.

Clients enroll with my firm's services when they are ready to grow their business and organize their finances so they can finally pay themselves well (…without sacrificing their values).

If you'd like to have a small taste of what it's like to work with me, I would encourage you to take this short "INTEGRAL BUSINESS SELF-ASSESSMENT".

Have you ever encountered business coaching or business development activities that simply don't work for you?

Engaging in the wrong coaching or wrong business services (or perhaps simply at the wrong time) can be costly in terms of money, time and emotions.

This quiz will help you understand your personal approach to business (i.e. how you naturally orient to your work), how to play toward your strengths, and what you might need to consider to overcome some challenges faced by folks who share a similar approach.

At the end of it, you'll have the option to book a complimentary coaching session with me (non-sales, coaching-only, no-strings-attached). I rather enjoy these calls, and would look forward to having a glimpse into your vision!

So that's a bit about me, how about you? Do you have an origin story telling how you came into your work?

Feel free to share a link to yours in the comments below :-)

#acupuncturist

#ayurveda

#naturopathicdoctor

#somaticexperiencing